1. Field of the Invention
The disclosures herein relate generally to an image forming apparatus, and particularly to an image forming apparatus that includes a waste liquid tank.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus of a printer, a facsimile machine, a copier, a plotter, or a multifunction peripheral (MFP) combining one or more of the above functions may be an inkjet recording apparatus, which is a liquid discharge type image forming apparatus that uses a recording head made of a liquid discharge head (liquid droplet discharge head) that discharges liquid droplets, for example.
Such an image forming apparatus may include a maintenance unit for maintaining and restoring the recording head. Maintenance operations may be performed in the image forming apparatus by discharging liquid for purposes unrelated to image formation at a predetermined timing into a waste liquid receiving member such as a cap member or an idle discharge receiving unit. The liquid discharged into the waste liquid receiving member during such maintenance operations may be discharged from the waste liquid receiving member into a waste liquid tank via a waste liquid tube and a needle member (e.g., see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-000664).
When such a maintenance unit is to be replaced, or when the waste liquid tank is to be replaced, for example, the needle member is detached from the waste liquid tank and then reinserted into the existing waste liquid tank or inserted into a new waste liquid tank.
It is noted that the needle member needs to be securely fastened since the needle member has to maintain a sealed structure of the waste liquid tank. In a case where the needle member is fastened using a screw, detaching and attaching the needle member to/from the waste liquid tank may be burdensome. On the other hand, in a case where the needle member is snap-fit to the waste liquid tank, the engagement may be loose since such a fastening structure contemplates detachment and accurate positioning of the needle member and the sealed structure of the waste liquid tank may be difficult.